Jordan Valinsky
Jordan Valinsky is a freshman at Ohio University and a resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He suffered through symptoms of Crohn’s disease (CD) for more than a year before he was properly diagnosed at the age of 9. Dealing with the hardships of his condition has made an impression on Jordan. Knowing firsthand the importance of encouraging awareness, funding, and dialogue for CD, Jordan organized and executed a letter-writing campaign and fundraising walk that raised $100,000 for Crohn’s research and education.
Riva Litman
Riva Litman is a senior at the University of California and a resident of Danville, California. Riva was diagnosed with CD as a sophomore in high school, but has never let her condition hold her back. As a high school student in California, Riva traveled to Washington, DC, to seek funding for research in inflammatory bowel disease. This past summer Riva was selected as one of 3 interns to work in the Office of Presidential Speechwriting at the White House.
Jordyn Shapiro
Jordyn Shapiro is a freshman at the New York Institute of Technology and a resident of North Massapequa, New York. She was diagnosed with CD at the age of 12, which isolated her from her friends. Jordyn drew strength from her family and expressed herself by doing artwork and developing a comedy routine about her condition. She is currently writing a CD-friendly cookbook with her family and has worked closely with her doctors to form the Foundation for Nutrition and Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Children (NIBD).
Other 2007 Recipients Include:
- Alex Akers, University of California, Los Angeles
- Stephanie Bachas-Daunert, Princeton University
- Samuel Barnes, University of Utah
- Brittni Bryant, Auburn University
- Nikelia Chisolm, Teachers College, Columbia University
- Lisa Clavel, Peninsula College
- Jessica Cope, University of California, Santa Barbara
- Jordan Fifer, Virginia Western Community College
- Aimee Frisch, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh
- Tayler Harvey, University of North Carolina, Wilmington
- Tiffany Havlick, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology
- Jennifer Higdon, East Carolina University
- Kelly Horton, University of Arkansas, Little Rock
- Julie Michelle Katrichis, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
- Rachel King, Illinois State University
- Melissa Kwaterski, Marquette University
- Sarah Listing, Creighton University, School of Pharmacy and Health Professions
- Riva Litman, University of California, Berkeley
- Laura Maples, Virginia Tech
- Michael Margherita, Lehigh University
- Marissa Moffitt, Chapman University
- Grace O’Shea, Colgate University
- Kendall Plageman, College of William and Mary
- Jill Plevinsky, The George Washington University
- Charlotte Roche, Central Michigan University
- Lydia Rosenbaum, Mount Mary College—Columbia College of Nursing
- Rajesh Shah, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School
- Jordyn Shapiro, New York Institute of Technology
- Nathan Tanoue, Taylor University
- Jordan Valinsky, Ohio University
- Michael Schacht, Valparaiso University
